Arsenal vs Standard Liege: Predicted XI in Europa League week 2

Arsenal take to the pitch in the Europa League to face Standard Liege hoping to stay blemishless. Here is how they are likely to line up.

Arsenal started the Europa League in grand fashion, stomping a strong Eintracht Frankfurt side by a rousing scoreline of 3-0. Taking that in isolation, it’s reasonable to expect similar results against a weaker Standard Liege side, but given how up and down the past month has been, it’s hard to say what might happen.

More recently, the Gunners managed a surprisingly disappointing 1-1 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford that showcased some serious deficiencies at the club and prompted many to cry out for wholesale changes in the starting XI.

This is Unai Emery’s first chance to answer those calls, and seeing as how this is a good ol’ midweek match, the rotation will be heavy, though the defense may end up looking more like we want it to in this one than it did against Manchester United.

All that said, there really isn’t any dominant reason to think that the Gunners can’t take care of business here. They’ve got some injury concerns, with a lot of players returning from extended absences, but the full disposal is almost back.

Using the 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest as a guide, let’s dig into how Emery will likely stack up in a match of similar standards. I’m predicting a 4-2-3-1 here, with a bit of experimentation as we move up the pitch.

Let’s start in goal.

Keeper

Emi Martinez has waited a long time to be in the position that he is currently in, and it shows in how earnestly he defends his goal. He’s been nothing short of perfect in his time in goal. Literally. He’s not given up a goal yet.

That may be a byproduct of inferior opposition, or it may be a byproduct of not having to play behind David Luiz and Sokratis, but whatever you want to chalk it up to, he’s getting the job done, and there’s no reason why he can’t get the job done yet again against Standard Liege.

Moving on to the centerback pairing, the dynamic duo of clean sheets.